Game Show TV Milestones Of The Week

[AH3RD]

JANUARY 6, 1975

Wheel Of Fortune, a Merv Griffin-produced game show which involved the tried-and-true word game of Hangman, and a large spinning wheel containing various amounts of cash and several columns that assist ("One Free Spin") or hinder ("Lose A Turn," "Bankruptcy") contestants, had its premiere on NBC Daytime. This came strong on the heels of the cancellation of a previous Merv Griffin production, the Art Fleming-emceed Jeopardy!, after a memorable 11 year-run on The Peacock.

Wheel Of Fortune would tie with The Hollywood Squares as the longest continuously-aired game show on NBC-TV. The show featured, as its original team, Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford in its humble beginnings. Ginny Hubert was the first champion on Wheel's landmark debut telecast.

In late 1981, after 6 years, Chuck Woolery split after the Christmas telecast (Friday, Dec. 25) having reached an impasse in a salary dispute (Woolery wanted a $200,000 salary increase to $500,000/year, whilst Merv was offering only a $75,000 increase). Enter the era of ex-weatherman Pat Sajak, who hosted in Woolery's stead effective the following Monday. Susan Stafford remained as Wheel hostess until her departure on October 22, 1982; other models, such as Summer Bartholomew, Vicky McCarthy, and Vanna White (who was first seen as a contestant on rival The Price Is Right in 1980!!) took turns as hostess before White was given the nod to be hostess full-time on December 13, 1982. In the fall of 1983, King World Productions distributed Wheel Of Fortune for first-run syndication and was an instant hit (so big a hit, in fall 1984 it generated a first-run syndie revival of Jeopardy!!).

On January 10, 1989, Rolf Benirshke replaced Pat Sajak as host; 7 months later, on July 14, 1989, Wheel completed a glorious 14-year stay on NBC, only to defect to CBS the following Monday (Sajak had left to host his own ill-fated late night talk show on the very same network!), and Bob Goen was the new star. After 2 years, Wheel bounced back to The Peacock on January 14, 1991, with Pat Sajak, after the fiasco of his late night show, returning to the helm as host. It soldiered on for 9 months before leaving NBC (and network TV, thus) for good, living on only in firstrun syndication and repeats on Game Show Network.

(Now I think that Chuck Woolery's Wheel Of Fortune episodes on NBC from 1978 to his departure in 1981 have survived and just the first 2 seasons have been erased; either this isn't the case [NBC erased all of them, save for a precious few!], or Woolery refuses to allow GSN to air any surviving Wheel episodes bearing his presence! What do you think? Post your rebuttals!)

The first 8 years of Wheel Of Fortune (1975-1983) were memorable due greatly to it being graced with Big Wheels, that funky, fast-paced theme music composed and conducted by Alan Thicke (Growing Pains, The All-New Three's A Crowd). Of course, as we all know, Merv Griffin intervened with his own composition, Changing Keys (obviously for more money!), but nothing will ever match up to Alan Thicke's original Wheel theme.

[AH3RD]

JANUARY 6, 1986

The New Card Sharks, a Mark Goodson revival of the popular Goodson-Todman produced 1978-81 NBC game Card Sharks hosted by Jim Perry, premiered on CBS Daytime (replacing the late Body Language, another Mark Goodson Production), but this new version differed in many ways from the original. The set was changed, the music and most notably (in the first four weeks especially), The Money Cards were played differently (concerning the process of changing cards), and there was a new host, Bob Eubanks, and new dealers, models Lacey Pemberton and Susannah Williams!

Later on in the run, 10 people who had something in common began appearing in the front row of an audience, and several times throughout the show, questions were asked about them. In Fall 1986, there was an "Educated Guess" question added,  which just played out like a normal Hi-Lo question, except that the person  venturing the guess is not limited to 0-99 people.  Another feature, the two “Car Games”, was added to the game on October 27, 1986, just after The Money Cards.

The network version stayed in town until March 31, 1989; there was also a syndicated primetime edition on the side, launched in fall 1986 and lasting for a year, hosted by Bill Rafferty.

(Source of info: The New Card Sharks Episode Guide)

[Ian Wallis]

The Peacock on January 14, 1991, with Pat Sajak, after the fiasco of his late night show, returning to the helm as host. It soldiered on for 9 months before leaving NBC (and network TV, thus) for good, living on only in firstrun syndication and repeats on Game Show Network.

I believe the finale aired in September 1991.  Does anybody know if they acknowledged the final network broadcast on the air, or just went away without a mention?  I never saw it, and nobody seems to have the episode available for trade.

(Now I think that Chuck Woolery's Wheel Of Fortune episodes on NBC from 1978 to his departure in 1981 have survived and just the first 2 seasons have been erased; either this isn't the case [NBC erased all of them, save for a precious few!], or Woolery refuses to allow GSN to air any surviving Wheel episodes bearing his presence! What do you think? Post your rebuttals!)

I know this has been brought up before, and probably none of us will ever proove it one way or the other, but I have a hard time believing that Merv erased them himself, which was one of the rumours a while back.  Since it's widely believed that the NBC erasure took place in 1978, you'd have to assume all episodes from then on still exist.  I wonder if piles of them are sitting in a tape vault somewhere, just like "Joker's Wild" and "Hollywood Squares" were.  Too bad GSN has never aired a daytime episode.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 08:55 AM\']


I believe the finale aired in September 1991.  Does anybody know if they acknowledged the final network broadcast on the air, or just went away without a mention?  I never saw it, and nobody seems to have the episode available for trade.


 [/quote]
 The last first run episodes of Daytime WOF and CLassic Concentration aired on AUgust 30, 1991, and reruns of both aired for three more weeks(though CC would be back soon after for a two year rerun tour of duty). No goodbye was given for WOF IIRC. Alex of course made hints that the CC finale was indeed the last show.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 08:41 AM\'] On January 10, 1989, Rolf Benirshke replaced Pat Sajak as host; 7 months later, on July 14, 1989, Wheel completed a glorious 14-year stay on NBC, only to defect to CBS the following Monday (Sajak had left to host his own ill-fated late night talk show on the very same network!), and Bob Goen was the new star. After 2 years, Wheel bounced back to The Peacock on January 14, 1991, with Pat Sajak, after the fiasco of his late night show, returning to the helm as host. It soldiered on for 9 months before leaving NBC (and network TV, thus) for good, living on only in firstrun syndication and repeats on Game Show Network.

( [/quote]
Couple of corrections for you, my good man.
The NBC daytime version was extinguished for the first time on June 30, 1989. Now You See It played out its final two weeks at 10:30 ET on CBS until Wheel Of Fortune inherited the time period.
When the show bounced back to NBC in January 1991, Bob Goen remained the host.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 09:08 AM\']
The NBC daytime version was extinguished for the first time on June 30, 1989. Now You See It played out its final two weeks at 10:30 ET on CBS until Wheel Of Fortune inherited the time period.
 [/quote]
 One wonders if NYSI89 ended up as filler for WOF(i.e. did NBC cancel WOF and CBS pick it up by the time NYSI debuted), just like bringing back Pyramid in 1988 was filler for Feud or (possibly) Blockbusters 1987 was filler for Classic Concentration.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 08:46 AM\'] JANUARY 6, 1986

The New Card Sharks, a Mark Goodson revival of the popular Goodson-Todman produced 1978-81 NBC game Card Sharks hosted by Jim Perry, premiered on CBS Daytime (replacing the late Body Language, another Mark Goodson Production), but this new version differed in many ways from the original. The set was changed, the music and most notably (in the first four weeks especially), The Money Cards were played differently (concerning the process of changing cards), and there was a new host, Bob Eubanks, and new dealers, models Lacey Pemberton and Susannah Williams!

Later on in the run, 10 people who had something in common began appearing in the front row of an audience, and several times throughout the show, questions were asked about them. In Fall 1986, there was an "Educated Guess" question added,  which just played out like a normal Hi-Lo question, except that the person  venturing the guess is not limited to 0-99 people.  Another feature, the two “Car Games”, was added to the game on October 27, 1986, just after The Money Cards.

The network version stayed in town until March 31, 1989; there was also a syndicated primetime edition on the side, launched in fall 1986 and lasting for a year, hosted by Bill Rafferty.

(Source of info: The New Card Sharks Episode Guide) [/quote]
 Ah3rd forgot to mention Hot Streak and Million Dollar CoaL debuted the day Eubanks CS did, and Blank Check debuted the day WOF did.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 10:55 AM\'] Ah3rd forgot to mention Hot Streak and Million Dollar CoaL debuted the day Eubanks CS did, and Blank Check debuted the day WOF did. [/quote]
 Or simply chose not to, since none of those really constitue "milestones" of the genre.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 08:11 AM\'] [quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 10:55 AM\'] Ah3rd forgot to mention Hot Streak and Million Dollar CoaL debuted the day Eubanks CS did, and Blank Check debuted the day WOF did. [/quote]
Or simply chose not to, since none of those really constitue "milestones" of the genre. [/quote]
 But we have Zach here to make sure that that truly critical information is enterted into the record for all time, and really, that's what's important.

[Jimmy Owen]

The original "Concentration" run had to be close to the WOF and HS daytime run on NBC.  I'm pretty sure it was on longer than HS.

[gameshowguy2000]

Let me tell you why people preferred CS '86 over CS '78:

NO LONGER do contestants LOSE on a Double in the MC!

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 05:17 PM\'] Let me tell you why people preferred CS '86 over CS '78:

NO LONGER do contestants LOSE on a Double in the MC! [/quote]
 COntestants didn't lose on a Double in the Money Cards on the last year of Perry CS, either.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 03:02 PM\'] The original "Concentration" run had to be close to the WOF and HS daytime run on NBC.  I'm pretty sure it was on longer than HS. [/quote]
 Concentration logged 14 years and 7 months on NBC, the first NBC daytime run of WOF logged 14 years and 6 months, and Marshall HS logged 13 years and 8 months.

[gameshowguy2000]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 05:30 PM\'] [quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 05:17 PM\'] Let me tell you why people preferred CS '86 over CS '78:

NO LONGER do contestants LOSE on a Double in the MC! [/quote]
COntestants didn't lose on a Double in the Money Cards on the last year of Perry CS, either. [/quote]
 That, too.

With regards to Wheel, the Daytime version REALLY should've used the King World tag.

It clearly states on all the home games that the show is "Distributed by King World."

[PeterMarshallFan]

[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 09:07 PM\'] [quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 05:30 PM\'] [quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 05:17 PM\'] Let me tell you why people preferred CS '86 over CS '78:

NO LONGER do contestants LOSE on a Double in the MC! [/quote]
COntestants didn't lose on a Double in the Money Cards on the last year of Perry CS, either. [/quote]
That, too.

With regards to Wheel, the Daytime version REALLY should've used the King World tag.

It clearly states on all the home games that the show is "Distributed by King World." [/quote]
 Must we explain this again?

The DAYTIME version did not use the KingWorld tag because KingWorld is a SYNDICATOR. It distributes the SYNDICATED version. The daytime edition was on a NETWORK. A network show airs only on stations owned by that network; for example, you wouldn't see TPIR on ABC tomorrow, because it airs on CBS. A syndicator is NOT involved in ANY network show, thus there need not be ANY tag for the syndicator on said network show. The only exception would be if KingWorld produced Wheel, which they do not. The board game has the KingWorld tag because the only version currently airing is the syndicated one.

Just don't start begging for microphones on PYL again.....